Montreal has introduced a new new garbage management plan aimed at limiting the tonnes of trash sent to landfills each year.

The proposed $200-million, 10-year waste management plan includes more than 40 measures to reduce waste and encourage recycling, Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay said during a Thursday press conference.

Among those measures would be increased collection of organic waste — such as table scraps, twigs and leaves — and the construction of new composting facilities. Media reports place the spending on lawn and garden waste in 2008 at $6 million.

In terms of recycling, the city would start to use new bins on wheels to collect recyclables, which will then be taken to sorting centres and processed. In addition to boosting the number of bins, the city said a new type of closed bin will be tested in small buildings.

"We'll be offering citizens tools that will make it easier to recycle, make it more user-friendly, allow for pell-mell recycling," executive committee member Alan De Sousa, who is responsible for economic development and the environment, explained to CBC news.

"It's a plan that's realistic. It's doable. It's based on being able to maximize recycling, maximize whatever we can reuse and maximize reduction at the source."

City officials said Montrealers each produce half a tonne of garbage every year, and roughly 78 per cent of that waste is sent to landfills. 

"Our administration is committed to reducing and perhaps even finding alternative means to dealing with our garbage. We want to export less and less outside and treat more and more on the Island of Montreal," De Sousa said. 

The city also plans to ask the provincial government for funding for the project.

Consultations on the proposed plan will take place throughout May and June, with council expected to adopt it sometime in the fall.